耳

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 耳, read みみ, means the ear, the organ used for hearing.
• Basic usage: In 祖母は昔の歌を耳で覚え、今でも歌える。, the grandmother has learned an old song by listening and can still sing it.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• The organ and learning by ear
  • The 耳 that hurts in the cold wind is a body part, while 耳で覚え describes learning through listening. The latter can be understood as learning by ear in contrast to reading a musical score.